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November 29, 2017

Redfin Housing Demand Index Hit New High in September

SEATTLE — The Redfin Housing Demand Index increased 4.3 percent from last month to a seasonally adjusted level of 134* in September, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. This was the highest level of homebuyer demand recorded since Redfin began tracking this data in January 2013

The Demand Index is based on thousands of Redfin customers requesting home tours and writing offers. A level of 100 represents the historical average for the three-year period from January 2013 to December 2015.

The seasonally adjusted number of buyers requesting home tours and writing offers increased August to September, up 5.3 percent and 2.4 percent respectively. Year over year, tour activity increased 42.3 percent, while offer activity grew by 8.2 percent.

“Mortgage rates reached a low point for the year in September, which likely increased buyer enthusiasm to purchase for the month,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Though lower rates are good news for buyers, inventory continues to be a huge challenge. There were 14 percent fewer new listings hitting the market last month than in August. That was the largest month-over-month decline in new listings that we’ve seen in 2017.”

Across the 15 metros covered by the Demand Index, there were 14 percent fewer homes for sale in September than there were a year prior, and there was a 0.9 percent decline from August.

About Redfin Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including theRedfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry's lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $50 billion in home sales.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, subscribe here. To view Redfin's press center, click here.